Tuesday, March 3, 2015

The Midway City Council voted Monday evening to endorse a letter of expressed
concerns from an alliance of Woodford County groups about proposed construction
of a bypass in the Northwest Versailles Mobility Corridor.

The
council also heard from the executive director of the Woodford County Chamber
of Commerce, Don Vizi, who requested a $4,000 appropriation from the City of
Midway for the 2015-16 budget. He got a favorable reaction from Mayor Grayson
Vandegrift.

The
Corridor Study Group is composed of members from various Midway organizations
including the Woodford Coalition, Citizens for Sustainable Growth, Midway
Citizens Group, Midway Renaissance, Pisgah Community Historic Association, and
a Woodford county farmer. They wrote a
letter to the members of the Mobility Corridor Citizen’s Advisory Committee and
representatives of the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet.

Co-Chair Joyce Evans spoke to the council on behalf of the
group. The group is encouraging the ‘no build option.’ “People think it’s not a
real option,” Evans said. ”It is a real option.”

Mayor Grayson Vandegrift elaborated, saying no-build is one
of four possible options for this project,the other three where the extension
would join US 60. The middle one is Midway Road (US 62). “You can extend Fall
Springs Boulevard to US 60 . . . or you
don’t build this bypass at all,” said Vandegrift, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee.

Council
Member Daniel Roller added, “No build does not mean do nothing; it means do
something to improve the volume of traffic flow in Versailles.” Roller
suggested increasing signage along US 60 near the Bluegrass Parkway exit to
help guide truck traffic to the Sylvania plant on US 62 west of Versailles.
This would be a much less expensive option.

The list
of concerns centered on safety of Midway citizens because of the potential for
increased traffic along Midway Road. Another concern is whether it is
appropriate to use road funds for this project when there are other roads and
bridges that need repair and improvement.

The group
proposed moving the “Federal AAA trucking highway” designation of the Midway
Road portion from US 62 to US 60 to improve safety in the area. They also
suggested making the needed repairs and improvements to existing roads rather
than building a bypass.

In
drafting the letter, Evans asked members of the community for support. Among
others, council members Roller, Sara Hicks, Libby Warfield, and Kaye Nita
Gallagher supported the letter. Vandegrift noted that they did not do so behalf
of the city council. Council members Steven Craig and Bruce Southworth joined
in the council’s endorsement.

For a PDF copy of the letter, click here. Last
month, the council passed a resolution calling for "extreme caution and
careful consideration" in the bypass design.

The
mobility corridor citizen’s advisory committee will meet Thursday, March 5, to
discuss plans for the project. Evans told the council no public input will be
permitted at this meeting. UPDATE: This meeting was canceled due to heavy snow and will be rescheduled.

The
chamber of commerce has approached the council several times for money without
success when Tom Bozarth was mayor, but Vandegrift said after the meeting that
he was 99 percent sure that he would put the request in the budget and let the
council members decide.

In a letter to the council, Vizi explained how the funding
would allow the chamber continued management of the community portal website, www.woodfordcountyinfo.com. The chamber is using it as way to boost economic
development for the county. He was accompanied by Midway gallery owner Kenny
Smith, who is chair of the chamber’s board this year.

In
remarks to the council, Vizi offered to provide Midway a digital TV board to
display activities of community organizations. There are six digital boards
around Versailles.

Police and speeders: The
Versailles Police Department, which patrols all of Woodford County, provided
its 2014 annual report. Hicks requested the department break out statistics for
Midway; specifically including the number of speeding tickets, where they
occurred, the time of day, and the speed of vehicles going down Winter Street.

Warfield shared this concern, and said she and
Hicks spoke with state Rep. James Kay about the speeding issue on Winter
Street. “He has some plans to help us .
. . and we think the more information we have to back him up the better,”
Warfield said. Vandegrift said he would make a request for those numbers.

Roach book: Dr. Jim
Roach of The Midway Center for Integrative Medicine requested a resolution from
the council endorsing his upcoming book, “God’s House Calls,” By declaring
March 31 “God’s House Calls Day.” Roach said he has spoken with patient after
patient who have had spiritual near-death experiences. “They don’t want to come
back from death. . .they’re not afraid of death anymore,” said Roach. The book
will discuss the science behind these experiences.

Vandegrift said city attorney Phil Moloney
would draft a resolution and present it at the next council meeting, March 16.
The book will be available March 28, Roach said.

Water project: The
council approved a resolution authorizing Vandegrift and city clerk Phyllis
Hudson to sign the final assistance agreement between the city and state for
the Higgins Street water line project. Due to the recent weather, the project
will be delayed two weeks, now starting March 16. Completion is expected by the
end of April.

Vandegrift expressed his gratitude for the cooperation of
Midway College during this project as they allowed the city to store materials
on their soccer field. “There was very good cooperation from the city and the
college,” said Vandegrift.

Vandegrift
noted the new fire truck has been delivered and is in town.

Weather: Gallagher
made a comment about several sidewalks in town that are still frozen over.
Vandegrift said, “Each business owner has responsibility for the sidewalks. . .
. It’s an ordinance, we should be enforcing it . . . there are probably penalties
attached to it.” He said he would look
into the matter.

Vandegrift
concluded the meeting by complimenting the job of Wright Farm Services, a
company based in Richmond, for their efforts clearing streets during the recent
weather. “We had the best looking streets around,” said Vandegrift.

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News in and around the small but surprisingly interesting town of Midway, Ky., reported, written and photographed by students in community journalism classes in the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media, taught by Associate Extension Professor Al Cross, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues,www.RuralJournalism.org.